Mamata flight row: Pilots played ‘naughty’ for early landing

New Delhi, December 8

Cockpit crew of the three aircraft reporting short on fuel over Kolkata recently was “crying wolf” and played “naughty” to seek early landing to show good on-time performance, a top DGCA official said today and justified the action of de-rostering them.

All the three aircraft had, in fact, “enough” fuel and the pilots wanted “early” landing to show “good on-time performance”, the official said, requesting anonymity.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered an inquiry to find out how three flights, including the IndiGo aircraft which had West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee onboard along with other passengers, could fly low on fuel into Kolkata at the same time.

Subsequently, it directed the three airlines—IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet—to take off duty the entire cockpit crew of the three aircraft.

A row had erupted after the Trinamool Congress alleged that the aircraft carrying its chief Banerjee was not accorded priority in landing despite fuel shortage. — PTI